Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 50801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
He smiles down at me, pushing some stray hair away from my face. “I just want you to feel safe,” he says, and the sincerity in his words makes emotion clog my throat.
I take his hand, squeezing it. “I'm always safe with you.” My voice cracks on the admission. “I just don't want to be a burden for you.”
“That's not a possibility.”
I want to argue…want to explain a million ways I can be a pain in the ass—my midnight snacking habits, how much hot water I use, how I rarely make my bed—but I can’t. Not when he’s looking at me like that.
I want to throw my arms around him.
I want to cross the line I've thought about for years.
I want to know what his lips feel like against mine, his body, all of him.
I already know I love him, but I'm pretty sure I've been in love with him for a while.
But it would be selfish as hell to do any of that. Especially when I know what he wants out of life—a wife and kids and a couple of dogs. A pretty life, but not one I’ve ever truly entertained.
So, instead of being selfish, I drop his hand and pull away from him, offering him a soft and grateful smile.
“As long as you're sure it's okay,” I finally say as I walk out of the kitchen, lingering there as I look at him where he leans against the counter. “I'll take you up on your offer.”
“I'm sure,” he says confidently. “We'll clear out your place over the next few days.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I honestly don't know what I'd do without you.”
“Well, lucky for you, you're never going to have to find out,” he says.
“Sure I will,” I say before I can stop myself. A sense of dread spreading through me.
He furrows his brow.
“When you get serious with someone,” I clarify, hating the bitter taste it leaves in my mouth. I shrug. “Can’t have a girl friend getting in the way of a relationship.”
Paxton visibly swallows. “That’s not on my radar right now.”
I nod. Someday it will be. I’ve thought about it too many times to count. The minute he finds his match…our entire friendship will change. I do my best to bury the thought, drawing up a smile for him.
I jerk a thumb behind me, toward the spare bedroom. “I need to get ready for work.”
“That's right,” he says. “Do you have a lot of clients this off-season?”
I shrug. “A few,” I answer. “Definitely enough to cover me for the rest of the summer until the season starts back up again.”
During the off-season I take private clients, traveling to their houses and doing full body massages or specific muscle work, whatever the client needs. Some of them are athletes that need body work in the off-season, but most are people who found me by word of mouth. It’s an awesome gig and helps me pay the bills between seasons.
“Do you need me to pick up your table for you while you get ready?”
“No, I'm good, thanks,” I say. “But if you could drop me off at my place, I can get it and my car.”
“Of course,” he answers. “What if we run into Liam?”
“I don't care if we run into him.” I shake my head. “Especially since I'm in control of that situation. He can't leave me stranded because I'll never go anywhere with him again. And now that I don't have to worry about him keeping me up all night with his stupid antics, I can really just cut him out of my life in the way he deserves.”
Paxton crosses the distance between us, enveloping me in a hug, and I breathe so much easier inside of his arms. “All right,” he says, releasing me. “I’ll drop you off, but call me if you need anything. I'll have an extra set of keys made for you, but in the meantime just text me whenever you're coming home, and I'll make sure it's unlocked for you.”
Coming home.
The words clang through me, waking up something in my soul that feels a lot like hope.
“I’ll never be able to repay you for this,” I say.
“You'll never have to repay me,” he says. “This will be fun. Like in Rome. We practically destroyed that room with the shells we collected from the beach. I'm sure they're still getting sand out of the carpet.”
I laugh at the memory, warmth spreading through me. “One of my favorite summers,” I admit. “And with the way our parents just left us there to do whatever we wanted, you’re right, it was kind of like living together.”
“Yeah,” he says. “Now we're older and can have more fun.”
I can't stop the smile from shaping my lips as I look up at him. “Well, I'm glad you're excited about this,” I say. “We'll see if you still feel that way after you spend an entire week with me with no breaks.”